Text © World of Showjumping

With the 9-year-old mare Greece 5 (Mylord Carthago x Quinar Z), Germany’s Teike Carstensen won the CSI4* Grand Prix in Hohen Wieschendorf back in May – taking the biggest victory of her career so far and making it a memorable debut on four-star level. “I was never thinking about winning the Grand Prix,” the 25-year-old tells World of Showjumping. 

“Hohen Wieschendorf was really a great experience, with my family there and my horse Greece jumping great,” she tells. “First of all, I was really excited to be able to start at my first four-star show. The whole week was a good one – not my best, but a good one. When I walked the course for the Grand Prix on Sunday, I thought it was a difficult course. When we jumped clear, I was really happy – but then there was the jump-off. To win was something I did not expect; I told my dad that I wanted to jump another clear round, so maybe I would not be the quickest in the jump-off. However, Greece gave me a really good feeling and we ended up being the fastest pair! I was very happy and could not believe it at first. You need a good horse and the chance to get into the biggest shows, and when you get it, you have to deliver – there is a lot of pressure.” 

Teike and Greece’s success did not end there: At CHIO Aachen, they won the German U25 Trophy of the Stiftung Deutscher Pferdesport, Prize of Family Müter and at the first ever U25 German Championship in Riesenbeck, the two took the bronze medal behind Mylen Kruse and Mia-Charlotte Becker. “Aachen was really a dream,” Teike says. “It was fantastic to get a standing ovation from the crowd during the prize giving; it is something special to ride in that arena. Just like in Hohen Wieschendorf, I did not expect to win in Aachen either – because all the U25 riders in Germany are very good and everyone wants to win there. Hannes Ahlmann was a big competitor and I think my luck was that he had a fault in the jump-off, and I was clear. I think the U25 classes are really important, because it is a bit easier than competing against the seniors all the time and these classes give us young riders a chance to get into the biggest shows.”

Teike’s parents Ivonne and Jörg run the Sollwitt stallion station in Schleswig-Holstein, and she grew up surrounded by horses. “I first sat on a horse when I was two, together with my dad. When I was four, I got my first own pony,” Teike tells about her introduction to horses. “I did my first shows with my pony when I was around six, and when I was 10, I got my first horse. At 13, I competed at my first European Championships for children, and I also went two times in the junior category. When I was finished with school, I decided to only ride – it was all I ever wanted to do. Horses are my life and I am not someone who could work in an office… I want to have action, and I love horses and showjumping.”

Since February 2023, Teike has been based in Hörup where she rides for Stephan Johannsen – who bought Greece from the Carstensen-family in 2022. “My grandmother bred Greece; she was born at home and I have ridden her since she was four. I am the only rider to have competed her,” Teike tells. “Last year, Stephan Johannsen bought her, but luckily, I can keep riding her. My family lives from selling horses, so the day that we would have sold her would have come sooner or later – I am really lucky that Stephan wanted to secure her for me.”

“Greece is a little bit of a diva,” Teike smiles. “She is a princess in the stable, but when we are in the ring, she is a fighter. She wants to make everything right, and she would never give up. As a young horse she was sometimes really nervous; she tried a bit too hard – so when she was five, we decided to give her a break and she was just on the field. I did actually not believe that she would be as good as she has turned out to be because of the struggles we had with her when she was young. However, now her fighting spirit has turned into an advantage. I also think it makes everything easier for me that I know her so well; it is an advantage that we have such a long history together. We are good friends, and I think this is really important because you have to fight together in the ring.”

“Most of my horses are owned by Stephan, while some are owned by my parents. At the moment, I have six horses at Stephan’s stable but we are constantly looking for more. Sometimes I help at home as well, and my boyfriend has a horse that I ride too. Some days there are five horses to ride, and some days there are ten – it depends,” Teike tells.

Moving from home was not an easy transition for Teike. “At first it was really difficult for me,” she tells. “I am at another yard, but it is not that I really left my parents – I am still very much involved at home and help them as much as I can. The most challenging part was to leave my family and team at home, and to create a new routine. My parents taught me to ride, and my dad is still my trainer. It works really well with my dad; I think we understand each other just by a look and we don’t need so many words. He competed in showjumping and in dressage himself, so he is really focused on me riding good on the flat and I think that helps with the younger horses. If my dad tells me I can make it – even if it is something I might not believe in myself – I do believe him, which I think is special. He gives me confidence. He is not there every day now, most of the time he only comes to the shows. My family has for sure had a big influence on my career, and my father is the most important person for me.” 

“Marcus Ehning and Steve Guerdat are both riders I look up to. I like the rhythm Marcus has in the course all the time, he never disturbs the horses – it looks easy when he rides. And Steve, I like how he works the horses, not just in the course but also before and after, and how the horses look when he rides. He really seems to want the best for his horses,” Teike tells of her two biggest role models. 

Teike’s future plans include CHIO Aachen and the German A-squad. “My dream is to compete in the CSIO5* classes in Aachen, as well as being part of the German Nations Cup team, and to take part at major championships,” she tells. “Coming from Germany, you have so much competition, but when you deliver at the German shows you also know you have a real chance to be good elsewhere too – the level is really high. I will most certainly try to reach my goals, and I think that when you have the right people around you, you can do it all.”

27.9.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.